If any of the System Icons such as the Speaker, Network, or Power icons are missing from the Taskbar Notification Area (Systray) in Windows Vista or Windows XP, try the following steps to try to bring them back.

1. Open Regedit by holding down the Windows Key and press the R key. Type regedit in the box and click OK.

2. Click My Computer on the top left side.

3. Click Edit > Find.

4. Type iconstreams and click Find.

5. If Regedit finds an entry named iconstreams, press the Delete button on your keyboard to delete it.

6. Press the F3 key on your keyboard to continue searching the registry. If Regedit finds any additional entries, delete those as well.

7. Repeat steps 2 through 6, only this time instead of searching for iconstreams, search for PastIconStreams instead, and delete any of those entries.

8. Close the registry editor and restart the computer. See if your System icons have reappeared in the Taskbar Notification Area (Systray).

See also: Systray icons missing

How to enable or disable the Network icon in the Notification Area or Systray in Windows Vista.

1. Right-click on a blank area of the Taskbar.

2. Click Properties.

3. Click the Notification Area tab.

4. Under System Icons, put a check in the box for Network to enable the network icon in the Systray or uncheck it to disable it.

5. Click OK.

How to enable or disable the power icon in the Notification Area or Systray in Windows Vista.

1. Right-click on a blank area of the Taskbar.

2. Click Properties.

3. Click the Notification Area tab.

4. Under System Icons, put a check in the box for Power to enable the power icon in the Systray or uncheck it to disable it.

5. Click OK.

How to enable or disable the clock in the Notification Area or Systray in Windows Vista.

1. Right-click on a blank area of the Taskbar.

2. Click Properties.

3. Click the Notification Area tab.

4. Under System Icons, put a check in the box for Clock to enable the speaker icon in the Systray or uncheck it to disable it.

5. Click OK.

If the Clock is missing from the Notification Area or Systray in Windows Vista, a registry entry may be the problem. First ensure that you have tried to, enable the clock. If that doesn’t work, try the following fix:

1. Hold down the Windows key and press R.

2. Type regedit and click OK.

3. Click the plus sign next to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
then Software
then Microsoft
then Windows
then CurrentVersion
then Policies
then click Explorer

4. Look for an entry on the right side for HideClock. Right-click the entry and Delete it.

Read more… »

If the Power icon is missing from the Notification Area or Systray in Windows Vista, a registry change could fix the issue. First make sure you’ve tried to change the setting to enable or disable the Power Icon. If that doesn’t work, try the following fix:

1. Hold down the Windows key and press R.

2. Type regedit and click OK.

3. Click the plus sign next to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
then Software
then Microsoft
then Windows
then CurrentVersion
then Policies
then click Explorer

4. Look for an entry on the right side for HideSCAPower. Right-click the entry and Delete it.

Read more… »

To connect to a nonbroadcasting wireless network, follow these steps:

1. Click on the network icon [] in the task bar.

2. Select Connect or disconnect…

3. Select Setup a connection or network.

4. Select Manually connect to a wireless network.

5. Enter Network name > select Security type > Encryption type > Security Key/Passphrase.

6. Be sure to leave Start this connection automatically unchecked!

7. Check Connect even if the network is not broadcasting.

Some Windows Vista users have experienced a problem viewing Gadgets. They sometimes appear as a blank black or white box. For some users, going to Java.com and downloading then reinstalling Java seems to work. If that doesn’t work, try the following steps.

1. Click Start > Run and type cmd.

2. Press Ctrl + Shift + Enter. (elevates rights)

3. Press Alt + C to close the User Account Control dialog.

4. Type cd c:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar

5. Type the following and press enter after each line.

regsvr32 -u sbdrop.dll
regsvr32 -u wlsrvc.dll
regsvr32 atl.dll
regsvr32 sbdrop.dll
regsvr32 wlsrvc.dll

See also:
Run a Command as Administrator from the Windows Vista Run box

Vista sidebar gadgets won’t view

You can enable or disable the thumbnail icon feature for image files.

1. Open Control Panel.

2. Open Folder Options.

3. Select View.

4. Uncheck the box for Always show icons, never thumbnails to enable thumbnail icons.  Check the box to disable thumbnail icons.

How to connect to a wireless network in Windows Vista.

1. Right-click the Network icon on the taskbar.

2. Click Connect to a Network.

3. Select the network you wish to connect to and click Connect.

When trying to run a Microsoft Windows Update, you get Error 8007000D and you cannot install updates.

Try importing the following file into your registry. wupdate.reg (You may need to right-click and select Save as…)

Running this file will make changes to your registry to restore the Microsoft Windows Update functionality. As a precaution, you may want to backup your registry before making this change.

Here’s how to change power plans in Windows Vista.

1. Click the Start button.

2. Click Control Panel.

3. Click System And Maintenance.

4. Click Power Options.

5. Select a power option. Your options are:

Balanced
Power saver
High performance

How to send a remote assistance invite to somebody in Windows Vista.

1. Click Start > All Programs > Maintenance > Windows Remote Assistance.

2. Click Offer To Help Someone.

3. Enter the name or IP address of the computer you want to connect to.

4. The user will receive a message. The user will need to click Yes to allow the session. You will then have access to control the PC.

How to start Remote Desktop and login to another computer from yours in Windows Vista. The capability must be enabled on the computers you wish to login to.

1. Click Start > All Programs > Accessories > Remote Desktop Connection.
Alternately you can hold down the Windows Key and press R, then type the command mstsc, and click OK.

2.  You can either type the Computer Name or IP Address of the computer you wish to remote into into the drop-down menu.  You can also click Browse For More to see the a list of computers you can remote into.

3. Click Connect.

4. Click the user you wish to use and enter the password for the account and click OK.

Your computer should then login to the computer where you can navigate as though you were sitting in front of it. Use the menu at the top-middle of the windows to minimize, maximize, etc. the Remote Desktop window.

Set your network location each time you move your computer onto a new network. This setting optimizes your system for use at work, home or in a public location.

1. Click Start > Control Panel.

2. Open Network and Internet.

3. Open Network and Sharing Center.

4. Click Customize next to your network connection.

5. Choose Home, Work or Public as your location.

6. Click Close.